Finding Dory was recently released in theaters, and it’s a sequel to Finding Nemo, which is one of my favorite Pixar films.  So it got me to thinking about my other Pixar favorites, and also Pixar movies that I didn’t like as much.  So I made a list of my top four favorite and least favorite Pixar films.  Why four?  No reason other than that it was harder to narrow it down to five. I had four distinct ones in each category but after that it wasn’t as clear.  So I stuck with four for eac

The one rule is that all of these are the full length theatrical releases only.  No shorts.  There’s way too many shorts for me to make a list out of!  But if I had to pick a favorite Pixar short, it would be the TV special Toy Story That Time Forgot.  It was a Christmas special where the toys visit another boy’s house and meet up with a newly given line of dinosaur warrior action figures and playsets.  It makes so much fun of the toys I grew up with in the 80s, especially stuff like He-Man, that it really spoke to me.  They even had anime company Gainax make a mock cartoon intro for the “Battlesaurs.”  It looked like something that really could’ve existed.  I liked the short so much I even got it on DVD! What’s also cool about this short is that Steve Purcell directed it.  He created Sam & Max.  Purcell also helped with Brave, and was even the voice of the crow in that movie!  I wonder if he still works for Pixar and if so, what he’s working on now?

Cary’s Top Four Favorite Pixar Films

OK with that out of the way, here are my top four favorite Pixar films.

Finding Nemo

I kind of flip-flop on whether this is my top favorite Pixar movie or the one below it on my list.  But since Finding Dory is on my mind, Finding Nemo is my favorite right now.  Tomorrow it may be different.  Even though this film has been out for more than ten years, the water effects and underwater scenery still look amazing to me.  And most of the characters are very identifiable to me.  For instance, Nemo has a disability (underdeveloped fin) that can slow him down sometimes but he doesn’t let that keep him from doing what he needs to do.  And I can identify with that, being blind in my left eye since birth.  There are lots of laughs, too, and you’ll never look at seagulls the same way again!  Plus, I just like going to aquariums to look at fish, and that’s what this movie makes me feel like doing.  My favorite exhibit at EPCOT Center is The Living Seas (which is just a big aquarium), but I really liked it when they remodeled it to have a Finding Nemo theme!

Hey you know what I think would make a neat kids’ TV show?  Have it be about Nemo and his classmates as they learn about sea creatures from their stingray teacher.  They could also learn how to overcome their own obstacles, like with Nemo’s small fin disability.  I know there is already a show for kids out there that teaches about sea creatures (Octonauts), but I like my idea, too.

So what did I think about Finding Dory?  Well, while I don’t like it as much as Finding Nemo, and it may not be in my top four favorites, it was still a great movie with lots of laughs and I enjoyed it.  I also can identify with some of the themes in this movie.  For instance, Dory has a flaw (short term memory), and she must find other ways around her problems in order to accomplish her goals.  That’s something I have to do a lot, too!  And you’ll definitely want to stay after the closing credits for a funny extra bonus scene.  You know how they did the seagulls in the first movie?  They do something similar with another animal in this one!

Up

Like I said earlier, sometimes I like this movie better than Finding Nemo, and vice versa.  This movie has a very sad beginning, but it’s such a beautiful story.  And there’s something for everyone.  A well-written plot for the grown-ups, and funny gags with the kid and dog for the younger ones.  I liked this movie so much, I saw it twice in theaters, and I almost never do that!  One cool thing they do for kids at the Animal Kingdom park at Disney World is they have a Wilderness Explorers program like in the movie.  Kids can go to different parts of the park and do certain activities to earn stamp badges they can put in a book.  My brother and I said that if we were kids when we went there, we would totally do that!

Inside Out

Sometimes it takes a while and I need multiple viewings to really like certain Pixar films.  One good example was Monsters Inc.  I didn’t like it at first, but after I gave it some time and watched it some more, I gained more appreciation for it.  But not with Inside Out.  As soon as I watched it, I knew it would be one of my top favorites.  While it’s wasn’t as visually stunning to me (but it was still colorful), the reason why I liked it was for the writing.  It’s such a sad yet beautiful story, and even though the main character is a young girl, I think that only grown-ups will fully understand this movie.  Also, I bet that for many years to come, tons of college students will write their psychology course papers about the themes in this movie!

Toy Story 2

I like all three Toy Story movies.  While some parts of the first one haven’t aged as well, it’s still a timeless movie that deserves its spot as a Disney classic.  And the third film is great, too, but almost a little TOO sad in spots.  The reason why Toy Story 2 is my favorite is it’s a nice balance between the two others.  It has some touching and poignant scenes, but still retains the classic fun of the first movie.  So it’s a happy medium.  Plus, I loved what they did with Rex’s character in this one.  They made him a crazy obsessed gamer and he was hilarious!

Cary’s Top Four Least Favorite Pixar Films

And now for my least favorite Pixar films.  The ones at the bottom of this list are the ones I like the least.

A Bug’s Life

This movie came out after Toy Story and it’s really not a bad movie at all.  It just didn’t impress me as much as Toy Story did.  And I don’t think it has aged as well either.  And why were all the ants blue?  So yeah, it’s still a fun movie, but I never felt compelled to get it on DVD like nearly every other Pixar movie.

Cars 2

Everyone likes to bash this movie but I don’t think it’s THAT bad.  Although it’s still on my list so I guess it’s not their greatest work either.  It’s just a spy-themed movie with talking cars.  I do like the Cars characters because they remind me of Putt-Putt, one of the best kids’ game series out there.  There’s really only one reason why Cars 2 is on this list.  At one point in the movie, Mater sings the State Farm Insurance theme.  At the time this movie came out, there were some State Farm TV commercials with Cars, so having that be in the movie was such a blatant product placement.  Pixar usually doesn’t do product placement in their movies (except for other Pixar movies), so it just felt off-putting to me here.

The Good Dinosaur

This movie looks great and has a good message about family.  But it doesn’t do anything better than Don Bluth’s The Land Before Time (the first one, not any of the sequels).  If it’s not ripping off that movie, it’s ripping off The Lion King.  This movie came out at the same time as The Peanuts Movie, and I liked the Peanuts film better.  Of course, that has to do a lot with my nostalgia for Charlie Brown TV specials, but it’s rare I like something better than a Pixar movie.  Also, The Good Dinosaur had the misfortune of being released the same year as Inside Out, which as you remember is on my top four favorites list, so it had a lot to live up to.

Monsters University

I was extremely disappointed with this one.  The first movie was great because of the little girl character and the message about children’s laughter being more powerful.  But the sequel doesn’t have any of that.  The message is the hackneyed “follow your dreams” trite, and the two main characters end up dropping out of college anyway.  So the message I got out of this movie was that “college is useless.”  And considering how unhelpful college has been to my career life, I’d have to say that’s sadly true, unfortunately.  So this movie ends up being depressing to me.  One of my brothers said that the movie is better if you look at it as a tribute to college comedies of the 70’s and 80’s, which is a good point.  But I still don’t like this one that much at all.

Conclusions

And that’s all for now!  If a Pixar movie wasn’t on these lists, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like them either.  I still like all the other movies, just not as much (or more) than the ones listed here.  In the comments section, let me know what you think of my list, and tell me which Pixar films you like and don’t like.  Later!  –Cary

Tags: Movies with Children